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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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Mind Your Body summary
Nicole J. Sachs
A Revolutionary Program to Release Chronic Pain and Anxiety
21 mins
Brief summary
Mind Your Body reveals the deep connection between emotional health and chronic pain. Sachs offers practical guidance for transforming trauma into healing, empowering readers to take control of their physical and mental well-being.
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Mind Your Body
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The Mindbody connection
The author's own journey with chronic pain began when she was just nineteen years old. Suffering from debilitating back pain, Nicole received a diagnosis of spondylolisthesis – a degenerative condition of the lower spine. The doctor explained that, with this condition, she’d have to sleep in certain positions to avoid pain, she wouldn’t be able to ride in a car for more than an hour at a time, and that she would have to rule out getting pregnant since the weight of carrying a child to full term would be far too painful.
All of this came as a huge shock. But then came the final twist. The doctor recommended spinal fusion surgery. When Nicole asked questions about the surgery, the doctor told her that not only would it reduce her mobility for the rest of her life, but there was also no guarantee that it would reduce her pain.
The author came away from this thinking, something’s not right. There had to be a better way of treating this problem. So she started doing her own research. Now, thirty years later, she is a healthy and active woman who’s earned degrees in psychology and clinical social work and has given birth to three kids. While her doctors surely meant well, they were wrong. Her pain wasn't caused by her so-called spinal abnormality.
The author’s real ‘aha!’ moment came when she got into the research of Dr. John E. Sarno, who was Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at New York University School of Medicine and a physician at the Howard A. Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine.
Dr. Sarno had devoted much of his life to researching back pain and finding better ways to treat his patients. He published books in the 1980s and 90s that led to what is now known as the Mindbody Approach. This method challenged the traditional view that pain is directly correlated with the affected body part. Instead, it recognized how important and overlooked the mind-body connection is.
Dr. Sarno found that over time a person’s stored trauma and repressed emotions could impact their bodily health in a number of ways, whether it was causing muscle spasms, tension headaches, migraines, neuralgia, IBS, or any number of chronic digestive ailments.
Dr. Sarno gave a name to this condition: tension myoneural syndrome, or TMS. And his Mindbody approach worked wonders for his patients. Let’s dig deeper in the next section.
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What is Mind Your Body about?
Mind Your Body (2025) reveals the overlooked connection between the mind and body when it comes to chronic pain and other persistent ailments. It shows how our brains, in an attempt to protect us from emotional distress, can trigger very real and painful physical symptoms. It also provides a proven method for escaping this cycle and finding relief once and for all.
Who should read Mind Your Body?
- Anyone with a chronic ailment
- People hoping to reduce their dependency on medications
- Individuals with an interest in pain management
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